On September 12, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the armored train carrying North Korean President Kim Jong-un had entered Russian territory.
Earlier in the day, Russian sources said that Kim Jong-un’s train was heading north along the coast after stopping at the Khasan railway station on the North Korean-Russian border, according to RT. Later, RIA Novosti reported that the train had crossed the Razdolnaya River, not far from Vladivostok.
On September 11, President Putin arrived in Vladivostok and stayed there for two days to attend the Eastern Economic Forum.
Commenting on the agenda of the Russia-North Korea summit, Peskov did not specify where in the Far East the talks would take place. He only said that the talks would involve both Russian and North Korean delegations and would be held in person. There would also be an official banquet in honor of Chairman Kim Jong-un, but no press conference was planned.
According to Mr. Peskov, the upcoming negotiations will focus on a number of sensitive issues, bilateral economic and cultural cooperation as well as the general situation in the region.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko did not rule out the possibility that the two leaders would also discuss Russia's humanitarian aid to North Korea.
The most recent meeting between President Putin and Chairman Kim Jong-un took place in Vladivostok in 2019. At that time, the talks focused on denuclearization, the situation on the Korean Peninsula and a number of bilateral issues.
The North Korean leader's visit to Russia comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula and after the New York Times, citing Western officials, reported that Kim Jong-un wanted to discuss further military cooperation with his Russian counterpart.
According to CNBC, on September 11, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the US would impose new sanctions on North Korea if it transfers weapons to Russia. Mr. Miller said that the transfer of weapons from North Korea to Russia would violate many resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Regarding the meeting between the two leaders of Russia and North Korea, Mr. Miller said: "We will be following the results of this meeting very closely."
According to Tin Tuc newspaper